The Centre at Salisbury is a regional mall in Salisbury, Maryland. It is the only regional shopping mall within a radius and is the largest shopping center on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The mall is anchored by Boscov's and Regal Cinemas. Junior anchors include Dick's Sporting Goods, Burlington, H&M, and HomeGoods. Former anchors included Macy's, Sears, JCPenney, and Montgomery Ward, while former restaurants included Chuck E. Cheese and Ruby Tuesday.
The mall's opening led to the commercial development of north Salisbury, with several shopping centers opening near the mall after its construction.
Overview The Centre at Salisbury is located in the northern part of the City of Salisbury, in Wicomico County, Maryland. It is situated at the junction of U.S. Route 13, a major north–south route on the Delmarva Peninsula, and the Salisbury Bypass of U.S. Route 50, a major east–west route on the peninsula. The mall is served by Shore Transit bus route 116.
The mall has one floor, with . As of February 2025, the mall contains approximately 60 operating businesses and 27 vacant storefronts. The mall is anchored by a Boscov's and a freestanding Regal Salisbury & RPX with 16screens. A Dick's Sporting Goods, a Burlington, and a H&M serve as junior anchors. A HomeGoods store is also attached but does not have a mall entrance. The mall contains a food court with eight eateries. Four additional casual dining restaurants are located on parking lot pad sites. The mall also includes a branch of the Wicomico Public Library. There are two vacant anchor spaces, previously occupied by Sears and Macy’s.
History
1987–1990: Development and opening On September 11, 1987, news broke that developer Walter Petrie was planning to build a new shopping mall in the northern part of Salisbury. The mall, to be called The Centre at Salisbury, would be located on a plot of land, approximately north of the city’s existing Salisbury Mall.
Petrie claimed that a new mall was needed to bring higher-quality stores to the region. He called the Salisbury Mall an "antiquated center that wasn't serving the market," and argued that Salisbury residents often had to leave the Eastern Shore to shop. Robert Di Pietro, the project's government liaison, said that both malls could survive. He claimed that having two malls in Salisbury would attract more shoppers to the city, and that both malls would be motivated by the competition.
On September 23of that year, plans for the new mall were approved by the Salisbury Board of Zoning. The Centre at Salisbury would be a project of Petrie, Dierman and Partners, working with the Shopco Group. Boscov's, Leggett, JCPenney, and Montgomery Ward were announced as the anchor stores. A second phase would add two additional anchors.
Developers hoped the mall would attract shoppers from throughout the Eastern Shore, as well as tourists traveling to Ocean City. Construction of the Salisbury bypass would give the mall a more desirable location than the existing Salisbury Mall. Albert R. Boscov, then-chairman of Boscov's Department Stores, said "Without a doubt, the 'Centre' will have the best location in the entire area," referring to the mall's accessibility to beach-bound traffic.
The project's final hurdle was approval by the State Highway Administration. Plans called for construction of a flyover ramp to access the mall from U.S. Route 13. However, two local businesses objected, believing the access ramp would damage their properties. The negotiations delayed the start of construction by several months. Eventually, the Highway Administration withdrew the flyover plan, and the city council approved a simpler entrance from the highway.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held on October 26, 1988. The start of construction was delayed by rainy weather, but work was underway by April 1989. The mall cost an estimated $80 million to build, and employed approximately 500 construction workers.
Construction accidents On the morning of June 5, 1989, a scaffold collapsed at the work site. Five workers fell to the ground, with some being temporarily trapped under debris. Two hours later, another worker was injured in a forklift accident. All were treated and released from Peninsula General Hospital. On November 4, 1989, one worker was killed in a construction accident. John "Redbird" Moore was working for contractor Steel Tech, when he lost his balance pulling a loose cable and fell to his death. More than 800 people attended his funeral.
All three original anchor stores opened on July 21, 1990, a few days before the mall's official opening.
Boscov's was the only completely new anchor to the Salisbury region, and its store impressed the Salisbury Daily Times: "Certainly the most beautiful store in the area, Boscov's is a fantasy of mirrors and marble, with massive, glittering chandeliers, plush carpeting and soaring display pieces." The mall's Montgomery Ward replaced an older location on South Salisbury Boulevard. The store was given a modern warehouse design, with exposed wiring and pipes, instead of the traditional drop ceiling.
JCPenney was the smallest anchor, opening as an store. It replaced a location on East Main Street in downtown Salisbury. The Centre at Salisbury officially opened on July 25, 1990, with live music, remote broadcasts from local radio stations, kite-making workshops and kite-flying demonstrations. An estimated 75,000 people visited the mall during its grand opening.
Designed by the architectural firm of James P. Ryan & Associates, the mall featured "marble floors, landscaped gardens, fountains and pools, all under domed skylights." The Daily Times described the central water feature: "A glass-bottomed bridge spans cascading waterfalls that trickle down from two ends to meet in the middle".
A newspaper editorial said the mall was "guaranteed to forever change the retail shopping scene on the Eastern Shore", describing the mall as "truly amazing". Developer Petrie explained, "The amenities—the skylights, fountains, marble—are unusual for a market this size. But we think it will end up resulting in additional sales. [...] We believe it will become a showplace for people visiting."
Each of the mall’s courts was given a distinctive identity. The Boscov's court contained a built-in stage with an attached fountain. Hoyt Cinema 10opened at the mall on July 27, 1990. The theater had a total capacity of 1,900 guests, with each auditorium holding between 170 and 300 people. The mall also included a food court, with Chick-fil-A and A&W among the opening-day eateries.
1989–2000: Sears and Hecht's In September 1989, with construction of the Centre at Salisbury ongoing, officials from Sears informed Salisbury Mall management of their intention to relocate to the new Centre mall at the end of their lease. By November 1989, Hecht's had also announced their intention to relocate from the older mall.
While negotiations with Hecht's and Sears continued, plans for Leggett to open at the Centre stalled. Construction on the Leggett space was officially halted in October 1989. Developers claimed the stoppage was needed to adjust the mall's layout for Sears and Hecht's. At this point, Petrie stated that Leggett was still planning to anchor the mall, but that its opening would be delayed. He updated city officials a month later, saying Leggett was no longer committed to opening at the mall. In April 1990, mall developers confirmed that Hecht's would instead occupy the space previously intended for Leggett.
On April 21, 1990, Sears officially announced it would be building a store at the Centre to replace its 22-year-old location at the old Salisbury Mall. The new store would open in 1991, as part of the mall's second phase of construction. After the announcements that both Sears and Hecht's would relocate from the Salisbury Mall to the Centre at Salisbury, concern began to grow over the fate of the older mall. Government officials criticized the owners of the Salisbury Mall for not doing more to retain tenants. An editorial in the Daily Times concluded: "Instead of stimulating business for the old mall, the new mall appears destined to put the old mall out of business." Some in the local community felt misled by the mall developers, after previously being told that both malls could coexist.
Hecht's opened in the Centre at Salisbury on May 8, 1991. At , the new store was 57% larger than their previous Salisbury location and employed 100 more people. Sears opened at the Centre on October 1, 1991, with twice the display space of their previous Salisbury location. The Centre changed ownership for the first time in August 1995, when the mall's original developer, Shopco, sold the mall to California-based Macerich for approximately $78million. At the time of purchase, the mall was 89% leased and was averaging more than $150 million in annual sales. In 1998, the Wicomico Public Library opened a branch at the mall.
1995 shooting A fatal shooting occurred at the mall on December 23, 1995. One victim, Roy Davis III, died from his injuries after being transported to the Peninsula Regional Medical Center. Two other people were hit by gunfire, though their injuries were not life-threatening. The shooting happened at 7:45p.m. EST on a busy Saturday evening, while the mall was filled with an estimated 5,000Christmas shoppers. Prosecutors said Gabriel Cannon fired six shots from a handgun during an argument with Davis, after the two men randomly spotted each other at the mall. The argument was related to an earlier incident, where Cannon was allegedly beaten and robbed by Davis. Davis had been criminally charged over that incident, and Cannon was expected to testify against him at trial.
Cannon, then 23years old, had no prior criminal record, and was a full-time student. Police in Virginia arrested Cannon and a relative in connection with the shooting, charging both with first-degree murder. Cannon was ultimately convicted on lesser charges of manslaughter, attempted manslaughter, and reckless endangerment, and was sentenced to prison. Charges against the other defendant were dropped after it became clear that Cannon was the only shooter.
2000–2008: Introduction of Regal Cinemas On December 28, 2000, Montgomery Ward announced it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closing all of its remaining stores. The company's location in the mall permanently closed its doors on March 25, 2001. A Daily Times editorial eulogized the "beloved" retailer, which had operated in Salisbury for decades: "One hazard to growing old is that the things you rely on disappear as you outlive them. But the idea that we actually observe the end of Montgomery Ward Inc. is especially difficult to comprehend. [...] We find it hard to believe the current roster of retailers will be remembered as fondly."
In May 2003, Regal Entertainment Group (REG) acquired Hoyt Cinemas. Five months later, Regal announced it would be closing and replacing the mall's existing 10-screen cinema. A new 16-screen theater would be built on some of the land previously occupied by Montgomery Ward. At twice the size of the old theater, it would feature modern amenities and upgraded stadium seating. Demolition of the former Ward location began in September 2004. An outdoor pedestrian plaza replaced the vacant department store, and a new mall entrance was constructed. The new theater would be located in a freestanding building next to the mall, opening onto the plaza. Plans called for two additional retail buildings to complete the reconfigured space, although only one was actually built. The mall had difficulty leasing the new retail building, which still remained vacant a full year after its construction.